Chords for Grandma's Hands -Bill Withers - Easy Acoustic Soul Guitar Tutorial
Tempo:
114.6 bpm
Chords used:
B
A
Em
G
E
Tuning:Standard Tuning (EADGBE)Capo:+0fret
Jam Along & Learn...
Mm -hmm, mm -hmm, mm -hmm, mm-hmm.
hands used to grab my son's grandma's hand.
Grandma's hands [B] played the tambourine so well.
mm-hmm.
Grandma's hands, all right?
plays an acoustic guitar.
and I'm breaking this soul classic down for you, all right?
lessons if you want.
hands used to grab my son's grandma's hand.
Grandma's hands [B] played the tambourine so well.
mm-hmm.
Grandma's hands, all right?
plays an acoustic guitar.
and I'm breaking this soul classic down for you, all right?
lessons if you want.
100% ➙ 115BPM
B
A
Em
G
E
B
A
Em
_ Mm _ _ _ _ _ -hmm, _ mm _ -hmm, mm _ -hmm, mm-hmm.
_ [A] [Em] Grandma's hands used to grab my son's grandma's hand. _
_ Grandma's hands [B] played the tambourine so well.
[Em] _ _ Grandma's hands, mm-hmm, _ _ _ mm-hmm. _ _ _ _
_ Grandma's hands, all right?
I love Bill Withers.
I love the way he plays an acoustic guitar.
I think [B] there's a lot of things that you
can learn watching this guy play,
and I'm breaking this soul classic down for you, all right?
Become a patron, [Bm] support the guitar lessons if you want.
Get a PDF for every [Em] lesson.
_ [E] Links in the description.
But if you came just to [Bm] rock and roll, and you love Bill Withers,
that's a cool idea.
And to respect it, [A] grab that guitar,
bring the Titches band, follow me on in.
Let's break this one down right now.
[C] All right, so maybe you've seen our Bill Withers Ain't No [B] Sunshine video.
It's actually our most successful guitar [A] video as of yet
[B] on 10 Thumbs when we did a while back before we
made the guitar a consistent thing.
And then you know Bill Withers is something I love.
I love his music, and I love how you can do some really [Em] cool
groove things, or he does, _ _ mm-hmm, _ _ mm-hmm,
[B] that get us away from just strumming the [G] guitar, which
is always nice.
Strumming the guitar is great, but it's
nice to [B] have a break and mix up some things, OK?
[Em] _ So let me run you [B] through what we're doing.
The intro looks [Em] like this. _ _ _ _
And that's the principal riff that's going to [B] repeat itself
over and over again.
So let's put some tabs [Em] up there.
And you'll notice that I'm really just playing an E minor,
but I'm only [E] playing the E, [G] D, G, and B [B] strings.
So what I'm doing is my [E] thumb is on the E string,
pointer on the D [Em] string, middle on the G, and my ring on the B.
And I'm putting my middle finger here
on the second fret [G] of that D string,
and I'm pulling all these at the same [Em] time.
_ _ _ Now, that's going to happen two times, one and.
And you take that ring finger, and you're
going to put it on [Am] the second fret [B] of the G string.
[E] _
And that makes an E [E] suspended four, OK?
So we're going from an E minor to an E sus four,
if that's important [Bm] for you to kind of,
if you [C#] like that kind of stuff.
If you don't, it sounds awesome, whether you know or not, OK?
So [Em] then it goes one and two and.
Fingers only on for the second beat.
Once you get that and, it's off.
One and two and.
Mm-hmm, _ _ mm-hmm, _ _ _ mm-hmm, _
[E] grandma's hands
used to clap on Sunday morning.
All right, so then we go into the verse.
Now, on the verse, it [G] kind of functions
like a 12-bar blues in the sense that it's just this one loop.
And after you get the verse, you don't need a chorus or anything.
You have the rest of the song.
You're going to play that little E minor riff three [Em] times. _
_ Grandma's hands used to clap on Sunday morning.
_ _ Grandma's hands play [B] the tambourine so well.
All right, in that part where it goes to the tambourine,
we're playing a B7.
[A] _ Now, [B] you're thinking, I know a B7.
This is a B7.
_ _ And this is a B7. _
_ And you know, it's a little closer,
but it doesn't have quite the same vibe.
You watch [Bm] the BBC video.
I'm playing this like he played on his acoustic in that BBC series.
OK, so what I'm doing over this [B] B7 shape is I'm going 1 and 2
and 3, [Bm] 4.
And then [B] back.
1 and 2 and 3, 4.
You can give the 4, you can give a slap.
You can add another pinch.
Or you can do like I do and let it ring out.
1 and 2 and 3, [Em] 4.
_ _ [E] _
_ OK, so up to that point in the verse.
[Em] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [B] _ _
_ _ [Em] _ _ _ Two more times.
_ _ _ And then it [B] goes to this part that's like, _
[A] _ _ _ [B] _ _ _ [A] _ _
[B] _ _ _ [A] _ _ right [B] away.
OK, so then it goes up to [A] this next part
right [B] here, which is our B7 shape, but [G] also our E7 shape.
I'm sorry, our A7 shape.
And [B] I'm doing the exact same thing
I'm doing here with this B7.
I'm just moving [A#] it [A] _
down, all right?
_ [G] Now, earlier when I showed you that, [A] it's from this bar shape.
We're [B] taking these big bar chords.
[A] And we're doing something called [B] chord fragments, which
is popular in jazz guitar, because you don't need all
those sounds ringing out.
If you're singing, and you got, especially if you have a band
playing, _ [A] _ _ [G] that sounds really [B] nice.
So I'm going [C#] B7, A7.
And it happens [B] three times, but only two beats.
Like 1, 2, 3, 4.
1, 2, [A] 3, [B] 4.
1, 2, [A] 3, 4.
[B] So I like to go 1 and [A] 2, 3 and [B] 4.
1 and 2, [A] 3 [G] and 4.
[B] 1 and [A] 2, 3 and 4.
So I'm using [B] 16th notes there.
They're going to be pretty quick.
The whole time, I have my thumb on that E string, pointer
on the D string, and middle finger on the G string.
_ So I'm really just going _ in order, thumb, middle, ring,
thumb.
1, E, and 2.
1, E, 1, E, and [A] 2, 3, and 4.
[B] 1, E, and 2, [A] 3, and 4.
[B] 1, E, and 2, [A]
3, and 4.
_ And [G] after the third verse, that part's actually
going to happen not three times, but five [B] times.
Then it goes back into the [Em] _
two times.
_ _ _ OK?
[B] So let's play the whole verse together.
OK, so let's go ahead and play it from the [Em] top.
I'm going to call this the E minor _ _ sus4 riff.
And we will [B] go ahead and play through the intro
and the first [G] verse.
And after that, it just repeats itself.
You just have to change the lyrics.
So here we go.
[Em] All right? _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
Mm-hmm.
_ _ _ Mm-hmm. _
_ _ Mm-hmm.
_ Grandma's hands used to clamor all the Sunday mornings. _
Grandma's hands [B] splintered her tambourine so well.
[Em] _ Grandma's hands used to itch you out.
Her [B] woman, she'd say, baby don't you write [A] so fast?
[B] _ Might [A] fall on a piece of glass.
[B] _
[A] Might be snakes that have grabbed [Em] their glass,
now grandma's hands.
_ _ And then we'd start over here. _
Grandma's hands used to build [E] a nut on my ass.
[A] Alright?
[B] Okay, so that's the whole tune.
Grandma's hands on the acoustic guitar.
I hope you dig it.
It's a really, really great song to [G#m] play.
Really pretty song.
And a [Em] lot of fun to play.
[B] Okay, 10thumbspro.com.
Take care and until next [E] time, _
[Em] _ _ [C] _ [B] keep on having fun.
Keep on rocking and rolling.
Peace.
[Em] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[E] _ _ [Bm] _ _ [B] _ _ _ _
[Em] _ _ _ _ _ Oof!
Tasty!
I love me some Billy.
I love me some Bill Wittes.
He's so good.
So good.
Alright, check out [B] our, our, yeah,
You know sunshine [G] when she's [Am] gone.
_ _ _ _ [G] _ _
_ _ [A] _ If you're interested as [Bm] well.
Okay, it's [B] another really fun song to play.
Okay, [G] 10thumbspro.com.
Until next time, keep on playing [B] guitar, keep on
_ [A] [Em] Grandma's hands used to grab my son's grandma's hand. _
_ Grandma's hands [B] played the tambourine so well.
[Em] _ _ Grandma's hands, mm-hmm, _ _ _ mm-hmm. _ _ _ _
_ Grandma's hands, all right?
I love Bill Withers.
I love the way he plays an acoustic guitar.
I think [B] there's a lot of things that you
can learn watching this guy play,
and I'm breaking this soul classic down for you, all right?
Become a patron, [Bm] support the guitar lessons if you want.
Get a PDF for every [Em] lesson.
_ [E] Links in the description.
But if you came just to [Bm] rock and roll, and you love Bill Withers,
that's a cool idea.
And to respect it, [A] grab that guitar,
bring the Titches band, follow me on in.
Let's break this one down right now.
[C] All right, so maybe you've seen our Bill Withers Ain't No [B] Sunshine video.
It's actually our most successful guitar [A] video as of yet
[B] on 10 Thumbs when we did a while back before we
made the guitar a consistent thing.
And then you know Bill Withers is something I love.
I love his music, and I love how you can do some really [Em] cool
groove things, or he does, _ _ mm-hmm, _ _ mm-hmm,
[B] that get us away from just strumming the [G] guitar, which
is always nice.
Strumming the guitar is great, but it's
nice to [B] have a break and mix up some things, OK?
[Em] _ So let me run you [B] through what we're doing.
The intro looks [Em] like this. _ _ _ _
And that's the principal riff that's going to [B] repeat itself
over and over again.
So let's put some tabs [Em] up there.
And you'll notice that I'm really just playing an E minor,
but I'm only [E] playing the E, [G] D, G, and B [B] strings.
So what I'm doing is my [E] thumb is on the E string,
pointer on the D [Em] string, middle on the G, and my ring on the B.
And I'm putting my middle finger here
on the second fret [G] of that D string,
and I'm pulling all these at the same [Em] time.
_ _ _ Now, that's going to happen two times, one and.
And you take that ring finger, and you're
going to put it on [Am] the second fret [B] of the G string.
[E] _
And that makes an E [E] suspended four, OK?
So we're going from an E minor to an E sus four,
if that's important [Bm] for you to kind of,
if you [C#] like that kind of stuff.
If you don't, it sounds awesome, whether you know or not, OK?
So [Em] then it goes one and two and.
Fingers only on for the second beat.
Once you get that and, it's off.
One and two and.
Mm-hmm, _ _ mm-hmm, _ _ _ mm-hmm, _
[E] grandma's hands
used to clap on Sunday morning.
All right, so then we go into the verse.
Now, on the verse, it [G] kind of functions
like a 12-bar blues in the sense that it's just this one loop.
And after you get the verse, you don't need a chorus or anything.
You have the rest of the song.
You're going to play that little E minor riff three [Em] times. _
_ Grandma's hands used to clap on Sunday morning.
_ _ Grandma's hands play [B] the tambourine so well.
All right, in that part where it goes to the tambourine,
we're playing a B7.
[A] _ Now, [B] you're thinking, I know a B7.
This is a B7.
_ _ And this is a B7. _
_ And you know, it's a little closer,
but it doesn't have quite the same vibe.
You watch [Bm] the BBC video.
I'm playing this like he played on his acoustic in that BBC series.
OK, so what I'm doing over this [B] B7 shape is I'm going 1 and 2
and 3, [Bm] 4.
And then [B] back.
1 and 2 and 3, 4.
You can give the 4, you can give a slap.
You can add another pinch.
Or you can do like I do and let it ring out.
1 and 2 and 3, [Em] 4.
_ _ [E] _
_ OK, so up to that point in the verse.
[Em] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [B] _ _
_ _ [Em] _ _ _ Two more times.
_ _ _ And then it [B] goes to this part that's like, _
[A] _ _ _ [B] _ _ _ [A] _ _
[B] _ _ _ [A] _ _ right [B] away.
OK, so then it goes up to [A] this next part
right [B] here, which is our B7 shape, but [G] also our E7 shape.
I'm sorry, our A7 shape.
And [B] I'm doing the exact same thing
I'm doing here with this B7.
I'm just moving [A#] it [A] _
down, all right?
_ [G] Now, earlier when I showed you that, [A] it's from this bar shape.
We're [B] taking these big bar chords.
[A] And we're doing something called [B] chord fragments, which
is popular in jazz guitar, because you don't need all
those sounds ringing out.
If you're singing, and you got, especially if you have a band
playing, _ [A] _ _ [G] that sounds really [B] nice.
So I'm going [C#] B7, A7.
And it happens [B] three times, but only two beats.
Like 1, 2, 3, 4.
1, 2, [A] 3, [B] 4.
1, 2, [A] 3, 4.
[B] So I like to go 1 and [A] 2, 3 and [B] 4.
1 and 2, [A] 3 [G] and 4.
[B] 1 and [A] 2, 3 and 4.
So I'm using [B] 16th notes there.
They're going to be pretty quick.
The whole time, I have my thumb on that E string, pointer
on the D string, and middle finger on the G string.
_ So I'm really just going _ in order, thumb, middle, ring,
thumb.
1, E, and 2.
1, E, 1, E, and [A] 2, 3, and 4.
[B] 1, E, and 2, [A] 3, and 4.
[B] 1, E, and 2, [A]
3, and 4.
_ And [G] after the third verse, that part's actually
going to happen not three times, but five [B] times.
Then it goes back into the [Em] _
two times.
_ _ _ OK?
[B] So let's play the whole verse together.
OK, so let's go ahead and play it from the [Em] top.
I'm going to call this the E minor _ _ sus4 riff.
And we will [B] go ahead and play through the intro
and the first [G] verse.
And after that, it just repeats itself.
You just have to change the lyrics.
So here we go.
[Em] All right? _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
Mm-hmm.
_ _ _ Mm-hmm. _
_ _ Mm-hmm.
_ Grandma's hands used to clamor all the Sunday mornings. _
Grandma's hands [B] splintered her tambourine so well.
[Em] _ Grandma's hands used to itch you out.
Her [B] woman, she'd say, baby don't you write [A] so fast?
[B] _ Might [A] fall on a piece of glass.
[B] _
[A] Might be snakes that have grabbed [Em] their glass,
now grandma's hands.
_ _ And then we'd start over here. _
Grandma's hands used to build [E] a nut on my ass.
[A] Alright?
[B] Okay, so that's the whole tune.
Grandma's hands on the acoustic guitar.
I hope you dig it.
It's a really, really great song to [G#m] play.
Really pretty song.
And a [Em] lot of fun to play.
[B] Okay, 10thumbspro.com.
Take care and until next [E] time, _
[Em] _ _ [C] _ [B] keep on having fun.
Keep on rocking and rolling.
Peace.
[Em] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[E] _ _ [Bm] _ _ [B] _ _ _ _
[Em] _ _ _ _ _ Oof!
Tasty!
I love me some Billy.
I love me some Bill Wittes.
He's so good.
So good.
Alright, check out [B] our, our, yeah,
You know sunshine [G] when she's [Am] gone.
_ _ _ _ [G] _ _
_ _ [A] _ If you're interested as [Bm] well.
Okay, it's [B] another really fun song to play.
Okay, [G] 10thumbspro.com.
Until next time, keep on playing [B] guitar, keep on
